(R)-4a-ethoxymethyl-1-(4-fluoro-phenyl)-6-(4-trifluoromethyl-benzenesulfonyl)-4,4a,5,6,7,8-hexahydro-1H,1,2,6-triaza-cyclopenta[b]naphthalene (herein Compound 1) was previously published in Clark et al., Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry Letters 2008, 18, 1312-1317, and has the following structure:
Compound 1 is a member of a class of compounds useful for the modulation of cortisol by glucocorticoid receptor (GR) antagonists. One such known GR antagonist, mifepristone, has been found to be an effective anti-glucocorticoid agent in humans (Bertagna (1984) J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 59:25). Mifepristone binds to the GR with high affinity, with a dissociation constant (Kd) of 10−9 M (Cadepond (1997) Annu. Rev. Med. 48:129).
Increased levels of cortisol have been found in patients with some forms of psychiatric illnesses (Krishnan (1992) Prog. Neuro-Psychophannacol. & Biol. Psychiat. 16:913-920). For example, some depressed individuals can be responsive to treatments which block the effect of cortisol, as by administering GR antagonists (Van Look (1995) Human Reproduction Update 1:19-34). In one study, a patient with depression secondary to Cushing's Syndrome (hyperadrenocorticism) was responsive to a high dose, up to 1400 mg per day, of GR antagonist mifepristone (Nieman (1985) J. Clin Endocrinol. Metab. 61:536). Another study which used mifepristone to treat Cushing's syndrome found that it improved the patients' conditions, including their psychiatric status (Chrousos, pp 273-284, In: Baulieu, ed. The Antiprogestin Steroid RU 486 and Human Fertility Control. Plenum Press, New York (1989), Sartor (1996) Clin. Obstetrics and Gynecol. 39:506-510).
Psychosis has also been associated with Cushing's syndrome (Gerson (1985) Can. J. Psychiatry 30:223-224; Saad (1984) Am. J. Med. 76:759-766). Mifepristone has been used to treat acute psychiatric disturbances secondary to Cushing's syndrome. One study showed that a relatively high dose of mifepristone (400 to 800 mg per day) was useful in rapidly reversing acute psychosis in patients with severe Cushing Syndrome due to adrenal cancers and ectopic secretion of ACTH from lung cancer (Van der Lely (1991) Ann. Intern. Med. 114:143; Van der Lely (1993) Pharmacy World & Science 15:89-90; Sartor (1996) supra).
Treatment of psychotic major depression and other conditions and diseases using compound 1 would be made easier if compound 1 could be administered in a solid form. Solid forms offer several advantages over oil and gum forms of compounds, such as ease of handling, solubility, formulation with pharmaceutical excipients into solid dosage forms, among others. Previous preparations of compound 1, and derivatives thereof, however, have been unable to produce solid forms of compound 1. See Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry Letters 2008, 18, 1312-1317, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/591,884 (filed May 7, 2007 and published Dec. 6, 2007 as U.S. Published Application No. 2007/0281928).
What is needed is a solid form of compound 1, and a method for preparing the solid form. Surprisingly, the present invention meets this and other needs.